After earning a first-round bye, No. 7-seed Vanderbilt opened its 2026 SEC Tournament run by holding on to defeat the No. 10-seed Ole Miss Rebels, 4-3. The Commodores advanced to face No. 2 ranked and No. 2-seed Texas A&M. However, the Aggies eliminated the Black and Gold in a 4-0 rout in the quarterfinals.
Ole Miss
The margin was tight from the jump, as the Commodores and Rebels split the first two doubles matches, before Vanderbilt managed to close it out. Erin Pearce and Mia Yamakita got the ball rolling early for the Black and Gold, downing Brooklyn Olson and Beatrice Stagno with a 6-1 victory. However, the Rebels’ No. 9 pair Andrea Nova and Emily Welker fought back, upsetting No. 6 duo Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster, 6-3. With the doubles point hanging in the balance, the Commodores’ No. 11 pair Valeria Ray and Bridget Stammel refused to allow another upset, defeating Riley Crowder and Alice Soulie, 7-6 (3).
The back-and-forth continued into singles play, with Vanderbilt’s No. 9 Stammel delivering the first strike, earning a 6-3, 6-2 win over Soulie. No. 19 Welker fought through No. 24 Mohr’s initial lead, coming from behind to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-0. With Vanderbilt leading 2-1, Yamakita’s 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Stagno propelled the Commodores within a point of victory.
However, the Rebels refused to go down quietly, earning consecutive two-set victories. Crowder held off Pearce to win 6-3, 7-6 (5), while Ichino Horikawa defeated Webster 7-5, 7-5. With the score knotted up, Vanderbilt’s ticket to the SEC quarterfinals relied on No. 30 Ray. Ray fell in the first set but outlasted Nova in the next two, clinching the winning point for the Commodores with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Texas A&M
The Commodores entered the SEC quarterfinals match hoping to defeat a Texas A&M team that had beaten Vanderbilt twice this season. Pearce and Yamakita opened doubles play with a 6-2 win over Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikov, but after dropping this first doubles match, the Aggies refused to give the Commodores any more traction. No. 15 pair Mia Kupres and Lucciana Perez handed No. 6 Mohr and Webster their second 6-3 loss of the weekend. This trend of upsets continued, as the Aggies’ No. 47 Illinca Amariei and Violeta Martinez defeated Ray and Stammel, 6-4.
Vanderbilt’s hopes to execute a comeback quickly diminished in singles play. No. 1 Perez ousted Stammel 6-4, 6-3, and Martinez defeated Webster with the same score. With the Aggies closing in on victory, Vanderbilt’s Pearce attempted to mount a comeback. However, after a close first set, No. 62 Amariei delivered the finishing blow, beating Pearce 7-6 (5), 6-3. With the Aggies’ victory secured, the remaining three matches went unfinished with Vanderbilt failing to win a set in singles play.
With their SEC Tournament run concluded, the Commodores now must wait for their name to be announced during the 2026 NCAA Tournament selections April 27.
